Toward a Religiously Literate City

Bill Tammeus, a Kansas City-area blogger, has drafted a list of proposals to increase the “religious literacy” of people living in urban areas. These include, reports SoWhatFaith , public exhibitions of religious symbols, outdoor concert and film festivals, citywide book discussions, and tours of (often-magnificent but blighted) inner city religious architecture.

While none of the ideas are earth-shattering (that also means they shouldn’t be terribly difficult to pull off), they’re notable for the scope of their ambition and the level of inter-religious cooperation they would presumably involve. As many (particularly in the more elite urban enclaves) find it easy to dismiss religious faith as a phenomenon for bumpkins, these very public acts could perhaps dispel some frustrating hostility and ignorance. And to invert the telescope: since cities often make easy targets for rural jeremiads, perhaps this kind of evangelization could bridge the divide in more than one direction.

(h/t to Russell E. Saltzman for the article)